Friday, March 4, 2011

Espada Goes To Trial Sept. 12

A federal judge has set a Sept. 12 trial date in former Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.’s corruption case.

In addition, as per Ny1′s Grace Rauh, we also learned today that the US attorney’s office plans to file a superseding indictment against Espada by the end of the month. That is expected to include new tax charges.

Espada’s lawyer also raised the idea of having a jury questionnaire for this case, arguing that it is very high-profile due to the ex-senator’s public profile. The questionnaire would be designed to root out potential bias in would-be jurors.

Both sides back in court on June 23 at 3 p.m.

Espada’s attorney, Susan Necheles, told Judge Frederic Block in Brooklyn federal court that a plea deal is highly unlikely because the Bronx Democrat is convinced of his innocence and determined to fight the charges against him.

Espada and his son, Pedro G., were indicted last December for allegedly stealing more than half a million dollars from the Soundview health care clinic, a federal-funded healthcare not-for-profit.

The indictment cames as a result of a joint investigation between the AG’s office (then manned by now-Gov. Andrew Cuomo) and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of NY, the FBI and the IRS.

The Espadas are facing five counts of embezzlement and one count of conspiracy.

If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison on each of the embezzlement counts and 5 years for the conspiracy charge, on top of another $250,000 fine for each conviction.